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Staff Writer



Title: Staff Writer





Position Purpose:

As a member of the Bates Communications team, the Staff Writer does a variety of writing and editing for college communications.

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Job Duties:

Following a successful in-person academic year in 2020–21, Bates College seeks a staff writer to join the Bates Communications storytelling team at an opportune time as we anticipate the full resumption of Bates campus life.

Though not needing extensive prior experience, the writer will have a seat at the table with senior writers, editors, and visual storytellers to brainstorm ideas for content that strategically support institutional goals.

With assignments ranging from news stories, features, and Q&A interviews to guides, listicles and routine, the writer will find creative ways to show Bates and its people to our external audiences, including Bates alumni, parents, and prospective students and their families, through online BatesNews , twice-yearly print Bates Magazine, and related Bates social-media properties, including enrollment-focused channels. In addition to campus-focused stories, the writer will tell stories about the college’s robust community-engaged academic partnerships in Lewiston and Auburn as well as the endeavors of Bates alumni around the world.

With a strong attention to detail and fact-checking, the writer will also provide routine copywriting for various projects. In conducting interviews and gathering accurate information, the writer will have frequent contact with Bates faculty, staff, students and alumni. Working under the guidance and support of the Editorial Director / Editor of Bates Magazine in a newsroom-style environment, the writer must be flexible, curious, collaborative, and have a positive attitude. Wit is welcome, empathy valued.

Key Accountabilities

Writing

  • Conducts interviews and gathers accurate information to write excellent deadline-driven news and feature stories for online BatesNews, print Bates Magazine, and related Bates social media properties.
  • Does copywriting for other Bates Communications projects as requested by the Editorial Director.
  • Develops story ideas that strategically support institutional goals.


Editing

  • Copyedits, proofreads, and fact-checks content produced by the Bates Communications Office as well as content generated by clients and internal communications.


Projects

  • Will occasionally provide support for BCO projects as requested by the Editorial Director.


Strategy

  • Contributes to brainstorming and strategy discussions to support BCO editorial work.
  • Develops professional relationships with college offices to ensure strategic editorial coverage.


Digital

  • Prepares digital images for web publication using photo-editing software.


Minimum Qualifications:

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferably in the liberal arts or communications.

Experience

  • The writer must have a minimum of two years of experience in journalism or the equivalent — which can include undergraduate journalism experience — and will preferably be familiar with a contemporary college campus environment.
  • Across the board, the work of the Bates Communications team supports institutional goals of equity and inclusion; to that end, the writer must have experience with these issues, preferably in a higher education setting, and have written in a culturally responsive way for and about a diverse community / population.
  • Navigating the written word is central to the writer’s work; experience in text and page editing for both the academic and journalistic realms is strongly preferred, as is experience following editorial style and guidelines.
  • The applicant must successfully complete a background check.


Skills and Knowledge

Excellent written, oral skills, and interpersonal skills.
Expertise in journalistic writing and newsgathering.
Must be flexible, collaborative and have a positive attitude.
Demonstrated ability to write for and about a diverse community / population and whose writing has proven to be culturally responsive.
Ability and willingness to travel (by car, air, train or bus) domestically and internationally as needed.
Ability and willingness to work weekends, evenings, on-call and other non-traditional schedules.
Demonstrated commitment to practices in equity, inclusion, access and anti-racism and to serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse and inclusive community with diplomacy and tact.




Preferred Qualifications:

Expertise in developing story ideas that strategically support institutional goals.
Skilled at reporting myriad topics.
Ability to work collaboratively and collegially with a wide variety of college constituencies.
Strong interpersonal skills with ability to develop and maintain collegial relationships. Keen attention to detail necessary for successful reporting.
Proficiency in basic data management systems and basic computer applications (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
Skill at text and page editing for both the academic and journalistic realms, including a strong ability to follow editorial style and guidelines.
Demonstrated flexibility to change the course of a project.



Benefits:

Bates College offers competitive salaries, excellent benefits (health, dental, sick leave, 24 days of vacation, 2 personal days, 12 paid holidays, dependent care subsidy, free parking, access to library and athletic facilities & more) and a supportive, collegial environment in a drug- and smoke-free workplace.



Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

Bates College is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations. All college faculty, staff, students, contractors, visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.

Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed to Gwen Lexow, Title IX Officer, 207-786-6445 or via email at glexow@bates.edu .

About Bates:

Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college, attracting 2,000 students from across the U.S. and around the world.

Since 1855, Bates has been dedicated to educating the whole person through creative and rigorous scholarship in a collaborative residential community. Committed to opportunity and excellence, Bates has always admitted students without regard to gender, race, religion, or national origin.

Cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action, Bates prepares leaders sustained by a love of learning and zeal for responsible stewardship of the wider world. Bates engages the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.

Bates has highly competitive admissions, graduates over 90 percent of its entering students, and more than half of its alumni earn graduate degrees. Bates employs 200 faculty members and 550 staff.

The college is proud of deep roots in the Lewiston/Auburn community, Maine’s second-largest urban area with a population of approximately 65,000. Bates is located on a beautiful, 133-acre, traditional New England campus in Lewiston, an emerging city with an entrepreneurial climate, a lively arts scene, and a dynamic business community. Bates is 35 miles north of Portland, 140 miles north of Boston, and 350 miles north of New York City.

Advertised: Jul 01 2021 Eastern Daylight Time
Applications close:

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